
Former Facebook executive tells Senate committee company undermined US national security with China
Get Starting Point
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.
Enter Email
Sign Up
Wynn-Williams served as director of global public policy at Facebook, now Meta, from 2011 until she was fired in 2017.
Advertisement
'Throughout those seven years, I saw Meta executives repeatedly undermine U.S. national security and betray American values. They did these things in secret to win favor with Beijing and build an $18 billion dollar business in China,' she said in her prepared remarks.
Wynn-Williams also said Meta deleted the Facebook account of a prominent Chinese dissident living in the U.S., bowing to pressure from China to do so.
In a statement, Meta said Wynn-Williams' testimony 'is divorced from reality and riddled with false claims. While Mark Zuckerberg himself was public about our interest in offering our services in China and details were widely reported beginning over a decade ago, the fact is this: we do not operate our services in China today.'
Advertisement
The hearing comes just days before Meta's massive antitrust trial is scheduled to begin. The Federal Trade Commission's case against the tech giant could force the company to divest Instagram and WhatsApp.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

10 minutes ago
Innovation takes a backseat at small companies as tariffs become a full-time preoccupation
NEW YORK -- Toy robots that teach children to code. Sneakers made in America. Mold-resistant kitchen gadgets. The three items are among new products that have gotten stuck in the pipeline due to President Donald Trump's unpredictable trade policies, according to the brand founders behind the stalled items. They say that instead of fostering U.S. innovation, Trump's tariffs are stifling it with extra costs and unexpected work. At Learning Resources in Vernon Hills, Illinois, Made Plus in Annapolis, Maryland, and Dorai Home in Salt Lake City, research and development have taken a backseat to recalculating budgets, negotiating with vendors and tracking shipments in the shifting tariff environment. 'If we don't have enough cash to cover just the restocks of the things that we know we need, do we want to take a risk on this new thing when we don't know how well it will sell yet?' Dorai Home founder Kelsey O'Callaghan said. O'Callaghan started the eco-friendly home goods company with a stone bath mat and now offers about 50 kitchen and bathroom accessories, which are made in China with a non-toxic material that dries quickly. New launches are critical to increasing sales and attracting customers, she said. As Trump increased the tariff on Chinese goods to 20% and as high as 145% before reducing the import tax rate to 30% for 90 days, Dorai Home postponed introducing new merchandise. O'Callaghan said she had to lay off the CEO as well as the head of product development, who helped the company jump on new trends. 'I haven't really put the time or the emphasis on (innovation) because I'm covering too many other people's roles,' she said. The company paused shipments from China in early April but resumed some on a staggered basis after the president's rate reduction. On Wednesday, Trump touted progress in U.S.-China trade talks. With details still sketchy and a deal not finalized, entrepreneurs interviewed by The Associated Press said they viewed the tariffs war as an ongoing threat. The potential stunting of innovation follows an economic slowdown during the coronavirus pandemic, when companies also had to put projects on hold. Some experts think the on-again-off again tariffs may have more enduring consequences because they rewire markets and upend business strategies. 'When executive attention shifts from innovation to regulatory compliance, the innovation pipeline suffers. Companies end up optimizing for the political landscape rather than technological advancement,' economists J. Bradford Jensen, a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, and Scott J. Wallsten, president of the Technology Policy Institute think tank, wrote in an April blog post. Trump has argued that curtailing foreign imports with tariffs would help revive the nation's diminished manufacturing base. Analysts and various trade groups have warned that fractured trade ties and supply chains may depress R&D activity of U.S. tech and health care companies that rely on international partnerships or foreign suppliers. Small companies, which often drive the innovations that create jobs and economic growth, already are under strain. With fewer people on staff and tighter budgets compared to large corporations, entrepreneurs say they are spending more time on cutting costs, suspending or arranging orders, and deciding how much of their tariff-related costs to charge customers. That means they're spending less time thinking of their next big ideas. Schylling Inc., a Massachusetts company that produces modern versions of Lava lamps, Sea-Monkeys, My Little Pony and other nostalgic toys, has its products made in China. As part of its strategy to account for tariffs, the company put a group of employees on temporary unpaid leave last month to reduce expenses. Marketing director Beth Muehlenkamp said she and other furloughed workers typically would have been planning products for the final months of 2026. But Schylling isn't focusing on designing new products given the unstable trade outlook. 'It's really hard to focus on innovation and creativity when you're consumed with this day-to-day of how we're just going to balance the books and deal with the changing rates,' Muehlenkamp said. Even some companies that do their manufacturing in the U.S. are scaling back investments in new products. Made Plus, a Maryland company that makes athletic shoes at a small factory in the state capital, put a planned golf line on hold because two key components — a foam insole and the tread for the bottom of the shoe — currently are made in China, founder Alan Guyan said. The company customizes its shoes on demand and charges $145 to $200 a pair. The footwear is made from recycled plastic bottles with advanced knitting, 3D printing and computerized stitching techniques. It's looking into getting components from Vietnam instead of China. Embracing new technology is essential to restoring manufacturing capability in the U.S. and competing with Asia, Guyan said. But given ongoing trade frictions, he said he does not want to invest time or money evaluating the latest embroidery and knitting machines, which come from Germany, Italy, China and the U.S. 'We're just battening down the hatches a little bit and just hoping that there's enough influence in the community of footwear that it will somewhat change and get resolved and we can move forward,' he said of the tariff roller coaster. In contrast, many big companies are forging on. Google parent Alphabet confirmed late last month that it still planned to spend $75 billion on capital expenditures this year, with most of the money going toward artificial intelligence technology. Sonia Lapinsky, a managing director at consulting firm AlixPartners, has advised her clients to limit tariff discussions to a small group of executives and to keep their product creation cycles in motion. Businesses have an even greater imperative to come up with attention-grabbing innovations when consumers may be reluctant to open their wallets, she said. Yet smaller companies may struggle to wall off tariff discussions from the rest of the business. Learning Resources CEO Rick Woldenberg said that roughly 25% to 30% of the 350 employees at the educational toy company's headquarters, including product developers, are working at least part-time on tariff-related tasks. The company usually develops 250 different products a year and expects to get half that many off the drawing board for 2026, Woldenberg said. While exploring factories in countries besides China, he said, Learning Resources is delaying the next generation of its interactive robots that help children develop computer programming skills through games and other activities. The family-run business and Woldenberg's other toy business, hand2Mind, are locked in a legal battle with the Trump administration. The jointly owned companies filed a lawsuit accusing the president of exceeding his authority by invoking an emergency powers law to impose tariffs. A federal judge ruled in favor of the two companies last month, and the administration has appealed the decision. Woldenberg said he's ready to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. 'It's a win at the Supreme Court that we need,' he said. 'And so until then, there will be no certainty. Even then, if the government is bound and determined to keep us in an uncertain situation, they'll be able to do that.'
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Exclusive-French cognac makers offer China minimum import prices to fend off tariffs
By Tassilo Hummel and Emma Rumney PARIS/LONDON (Reuters) -Negotiators representing French cognac producers suggested minimum prices for exports to China of between $20 and around $300 per litre as an opening bid in talks aimed at ending a tariff stand-off with China, a document seen by Reuters shows. The minimum prices are part of efforts to avoid permanent tariffs of up to 39% amid tense negotiations with China's commerce ministry, which has opened an anti-dumping investigation focused on the sector. They were sent to producers several weeks ago for their approval by a Paris-based law firm negotiating on the spirit makers' behalf. A spokesperson for the law firm, GIDE, declined to comment. The industry, grappling with falling sales and simultaneous tariff threats from the United States, its other key market, has been fighting to secure a deal with China since Beijing first threatened to levy the duties in January 2024. The move came amid a wider trade dispute with the European Union after it imposed tariffs on imports of Chinese electric vehicles. A flurry of political meetings in Paris and technical discussions in Beijing last week raised hopes that a settlement of the trade spat was imminent. But the talks ended with no deal, leaving just weeks to go before a July 5 deadline for Beijing to wrap up its anti-dumping probe. Chinese authorities subsequently announced that the industry had made a voluntary "price pledge" and it was reviewing its terms. The price list seen by Reuters included a "minimum import price" for different bands of cognac defined by how long the spirit has been aged, ranging from two years for the cheapest "Very Special" (VS) cognacs to the most expensive "Extra Extra Old" (XXO), aged 14 years or more. Under the offer, VS cognac would have a minimum import price of 144.70 yuan ($20.16) per litre, while "Very Superior Old Pale" (VSOP), aged for at least four years, would be priced at 177.92 yuan. High-end "Extra Old" (XO) would cost 526.52 yuan to import, with the XXO category, where prices reach thousands of dollars per bottle and more, costing at least 2,126.07 yuan ($296.16) per litre. France's BNIC industry body declined to comment on the prices, citing confidential negotiations. "We keep waiting and hoping for a good outcome," a BNIC spokesperson said. The prices in the document refer to the price paid for cognac by importers in China, with distributors, wholesalers, retailers and consumers paying more to buy it. Reuters was not able to determine current import prices across the sector, led by LVMH's Hennessy, Pernod Ricard's Martell and Remy Cointreau's Remy Martin. Hennessy's VS cognac currently sells to consumers for around $100 per litre on Tmall. Remy Martin's cheapest label meanwhile fetches around $110 to $350 for its XO cognac. TALKS ONGOING Chinese authorities have already imposed steep provisional duties on imports of European brandy - mostly made up of French cognac - in the dispute with the EU. Laurence Whyatt, analyst at Barclays, said it wasn't clear the industry had made a major concession in the price offer seen by Reuters. "Import prices are usually a third to a half of the retail price, so the prices detailed appear commensurate to the existing import prices," he said. However, the document seen by Reuters reflected the sector's opening offer and talks are ongoing. A source familiar with the discussions said after weeks of back and forth, the two sides seem potentially close to agreement, but another person said the talks were tough and the sector was being pushed to make a bad deal. A settlement with China, the most important export country by value for France's $3 billion cognac industry, that removes the duties would be a boon for the sector, whose growth prospects have been hurt by the tariff dispute. ($1 = 7.1788 Chinese yuan renminbi) Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Oil prices ease but hover near two-month highs as Middle East tensions escalate
Oil prices fell on Thursday morning, easing back after rallying but hovered around their highest point in two months, as investors eyed escalating tensions in the Middle East and a potential disruption to supply. Brent crude futures (BZ=F) fell 0.9% to $68.31 a barrel, at the time of writing, while West Texas Intermediate futures (CL=F) declined 0.9% at $67.56 a barrel. US president Donald Trump said on Wednesday that some of US personnel were being moved out of the Middle East because "it could be a dangerous place to be". This came following reports earlier in the day that the US was preparing a partial evacuation of its embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. CBS News reported that US officials had been told Israel was ready to launch an operation into Iran and that the US anticipated Iran could retaliate on certain American sites in Iraq. Read more: FTSE 100 LIVE: Stocks slump as UK GDP contracts in blow to Rachel Reeves Trump said in an interview with the New York Post, released earlier on Wednesday, that he was "less confident" about getting Iran to agree to halt its nuclear programme. In a press briefing on Wednesday, Iran's defence minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said: "Some officials on the other side threaten conflict if negotiations don't come to fruition. If a conflict is imposed on us ... all US bases are within our reach and we will boldly target them in host countries." Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said that oil prices remain near a two-month high "driven by rising US-Iran tensions and fears of supply disruptions. At the same time, optimism about energy demand grew after the US and China reached a trade framework, and US crude stockpiles fell more than expected, signalling strong consumption." Gold prices jumped on Thursday morning, as Middle East tensions buoyed demand for the safe-haven asset. Gold futures (GC=F) surged nearly 1% to $3,376 per ounce at the time of writing, while the spot gold price advanced 0.1% to $3,359.49 per ounce. The precious metal is considered to be a safe haven asset, in acting as a hedge amid political and economic uncertainty. Britzman said: "Gold was another winner, with its safe-haven appeal gaining traction amid rising Middle East tensions and softer US inflation data, which gave a modest boost to expectations for rate cuts." Read more: UK economy shrinks by 0.3% in April Data released on Wednesday showed that the US consumer prices index (CPI) rose by 0.1% month-on-month, which was below April's 0.2% rise and lower than economists' estimates of a 0.2% monthly gain in prices. On an annual basis, CPI rose 2.4% in May, a slight uptick from April's 2.3% gain, which marked the lowest yearly increase since February 2021. Investors were also monitoring the latest trade developments, after Trump said in a social media post on Wednesday afternoon that Washington's deal with China is "DONE, SUBJECT TO FINAL APPROVAL WITH PRESIDENT XI AND ME". The pound rose slightly against the dollar (GBPUSD=X) on Thursday morning, up 0.2% to $1,3571, despite a bigger than expected contraction in UK economic growth. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that the UK's gross domestic product (GDP) — the standard measure of an economy's value — shrank by 0.3% in April, which was more than the 0.1% contraction expected by economists. The fall followed growth of 0.2% in March and a 0.7% rise in GDP in the first quarter. This latest economic data comes a day after chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered the UK spending review, sharing details of governmental department budgets for the next few years. Key announcements included a £29bn per year increase in funding for the NHS, while the government's defence budget is set to increase from 2.3% to 2.6% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) from 2027. Reeves also shared details of a £39bn boost to funding for affordable housing and £15.6bn for transport projects in England's largest city regions outside of London. Stocks: Create your watchlist and portfolio Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said: "It's hard not to look at today's headline fall in economic growth as anything other than inevitable. Company after company had warned the chancellor that the decisions taken during last year's budget would impact business growth and create huge uncertainty about existing staffing levels." "Rachel Reeves has said she is determined to deliver growth, and her spending plans have been given a cautious welcome by business groups up and down the country — but the caution speaks volumes," she said. "Can the government's trade policies and spending plans deliver the promised growth or was the energy demonstrated by the UK economy at the start of the year merely a tease?" In other currency moves, the pound fell 0.4% against the euro (GBPEUR=X), trading at €1.1743 at the time of writing. More broadly, the the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) was little changed, trading at 8,863 points at the time writing. For more details, on broader market movements check our live coverage here. Read more: Bitcoin price dips as markets cool after US-China tariff talks What you need to know about UK's private stock market Pisces UK house prices remain flat as buyer demand and sales steadyError in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data